I got to snowblow

I got to snowblow today.

It wasn't entirely necessary, or actually not ... *ahem* ... at all necessary, considering less than an inch of fluffy snow fell overnight and above freezing temperatures are predicted for our area this weekend.  But I was in the mood for manual labor*, and with 80% of the household now trained in proper snowblower use, I have to seize the opportunity when it arises.  The opportunity, in this case, being that the 3 other trained snowblowers were gone for the day.

I may or may not have been skipping on my way out to the garage to start up the beast.  And there may or may not have been a gleeful fist-pump or two.  And I'm sure the neighbor dogs were barking for other reasons, not because of my celebratory, "yippee," as I emerged from the darkness of the garage into the light of day with the snowblower clearing the way for me.

Not my snowblower, or my driveway, but I felt like I needed a visual.
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I love clearing snow.  I really do.  There is something so satisfying about being able to measure my progress in the neat and clean lines of bare pavement left by my shovel or snowblower.  There is something gratifying about being able to see how much I have accomplished, and how much remains to be done.  It is rewarding to use my body for a useful purpose, and the methodical movement, back and forth, in the crisp, cold air, clears my mind, even as my body is clearing the snow.  Best of all, the driveway, once cleared, remains clear, at least for a while, until it snows again.  The rest of my work is not easily measured, and so easily undone.

So I got to snowblow today, and for that hour, there was external evidence of my effort.

Now, I'm off to take care of the rest of my work.  The invisible work.  The work that is never, really and truly, done.  The work that I'm not sure if I'm doing right.

At least, my friends, I can clear the driveway.


*Those of you who have seen my driveway know why I consider using the snowblower on it to be manual labor, and why, even with less than an inch of fluffy snow on it, it's not practical to shovel the whole thing.  For those of you who have not seen my driveway, trust me on this.